The Blue Mountain–Birch Cove Lakes Wilderness Area is one of Halifax’s greatest public treasures — a rare expanse of forest, lakes, and wetlands that begins right at the edge of the city and stretches into deep quiet. It’s where you can paddle in still water, hike for hours without hearing traffic, and find wild berries, medicinal plants, and traces of old forest.
That public wilderness is at risk of being chipped away.
Large-scale housing developments are being proposed around Charlie’s Lake and the southern edge of the protected area, on lands that were long expected to become part of a proposed national park. Instead of expanding public access, the plan would privatize and urbanize what should remain a shared natural space.
Public Land, Not Private Opportunity
When the Blue Mountain–Birch Cove Lakes park concept was first proposed, the intention was clear: Halifax would have a true urban wilderness park, comparable to Vancouver’s Stanley Park or Toronto’s Rouge National Urban Park, a place where city residents could connect with nature without leaving the municipality.
For years, citizens have hiked and paddled these lakes believing they were part of a future public park. The City of Halifax and the Province both pledged to protect the land. Yet, despite those promises, parcels are being sold and developed, eroding the vision piece by piece.
This is not just about losing access to trails, it’s about losing public trust. Once a forest becomes a subdivision, it’s gone. Once access becomes “residents only,” it’s no longer public land.
An Urban National Park in Waiting
Friends of Blue Mountain–Birch Cove Lakes and the Ecology Action Centre have long called for this area to be formally designated and protected as an urban national park. The ecological and recreational value is undeniable:
- It contains old-growth stands, wetlands, and nesting sites for loons, owls, and migratory birds.
- The forest floor is rich with medicinal plants, mushrooms, huckleberries, and wild blueberries: a living classroom and a food source for wildlife and humans alike.
- Its lakes and wetlands filter water naturally for the entire watershed.
- And it provides an essential mental health refuge for thousands of residents.
Charlie’s lake is a buffer zone between the park and urban sprawl, enabling a feeling of being in wilderness, even though the city is close. This development area breaches that buffer zone, making the urban landscape visible from within the park.
Development Pressure Isn’t Inevitable
Developers argue that Halifax needs housing, and it does, but not everywhere. Building into wilderness is not the only solution to the housing crisis. Infill development, conversion of underused commercial areas, and affordable housing within existing neighbourhoods can all help meet demand without destroying one of the region’s last wild frontiers.
If we allow this development to proceed, we set a dangerous precedent: that public interest is always secondary to private profit.
A Call to Protect What’s Already Ours
Blue Mountain–Birch Cove Lakes is already serving the public. It’s already beloved, already used, already irreplaceable. The question is whether we will protect it formally or let it slip away through neglect and inaction.
Every new road, driveway, and subdivision around Charlie’s Lake makes it harder to complete the park that was promised. The land that should be the heart of a public wilderness is being turned into a private asset.
What You Can Do
Share this story. Many Haligonians don’t realize how close the threat is, and how it would change the park.
Write to your MLA, HRM Councillor, and MP asking them to support permanent protection for all public and adjacent lands within the proposed park boundary.
Support the Friends of Blue Mountain–Birch Cove Lakes (bluemountainfriends.ca) and the Ecology Action Centre (ecologyaction.ca).